October Week 2 - Food Prices Stink!

I think I'm done canning pineapple for awhile. Including the fresh pineapple purchased I canned 23 pints - gave 1 away and they ate 2 pints before i processed it. Of course these last 2 years so if I find another deal I will certainly make more..but for October 2011 - I'm done with pineapple.






4 days ago Big Lots had a 20% off everything event...I purchased this coffee for 3.90. Truth be told the original price last month was $3.50 a bag (1lb 10oz). It is not the BEST coffee - but it is good - an easy breakfast blend drip coffee. I also keep whole beans stocked up of the good stuff -the strong stuff...but for everyday use and for the price this is a good buy.

And it's not from China - it's from Australia.


Coconut Milk 64 cents each.
NoH are good products my grandmother used to sell them in her store. These are sugar added so it's better for drinks and desserts. I also have plain coconut cream powder put up for curries and such.








Here are the ingredients:
Powdered coconut
non fat dried milk
natural cane sugar

AND sugar is the last ingredient so that means it is the smallest ingredient. Good Stuff.






These were only 40 cents. my Mom is crazy about them. She absolutely loves this gravy. I find the ingredients to be iffy but in a pinch I'll take my chances.










These were $8 for 3 locks.
Word Locks you can set a word to be the combination. We are going to stress test these before we purchase anymore.










2.40 a bottle for the Paprika...
18oz bottle. I rarely if ever see it at this size - mcCormick is downsizing all of their 'large' spice bottles to 12 oz. When I did see this at Costco it was $9. Costco now carries roasted paprika in a smaller bottle for like $5+ each.







Solvent Gloves $1.20
Suede Burpee Garden Gloves $4












Baking Powder 40 cents













Pineapples $1 each













3 wide mouth pint jars 58 cents.

Afro periodically stops at Goodwill to go jar hunting. This month they were cleaned out...but here in AZ the first Saturday of the month is their 50% off everything event. He said that place was jumpin like a bar it was so packed.






We purchased another 2 cases of pints from Ace Hardware $10 each. Yeah - jars are something we NEVER find for cheap here.

It costs about 50 cents more to go to Ace Hardware but you know what - Ace Hardware stores are usually privately owned and purchased as a franchise - so we've decided to buy our jars at Ace instead of giving Wally World our money.



I bought another 25 lbs of bread flour - it went down about a quarter. $7.99 this week at Costco. Hardly anyone was shopping at costco on Tuesday. The people who were in there were just getting 2 or 3 things. It is amazing how little people buy these days. I remember when Costco first opened some couples had 1 cart each!





Kilner Jars.

$3.99 each. I just wanted something to put my salt in. I got rid of my cardboard container and the big jars like this at Hobby Lobby were like $8.








I don't know where they are made but it's a British company that owns it - they also have canning jars and I will be on the lookout for those. As soon as I get my hot little hands on some I will be testing them in the canner.









I know some of you could just get this in your back yard - but we can't LOL. It was a steal at $2.69. Regular price is like 6.19.

Doesn't hurt to have it.

They have some oakplanks on clearance but I want those to go down a LOT lower in price.





Jumbo Bath Poofies 3 for $2.50...the weird thing about these bath poofies the standard price used to be like 79 cents - now even at wally world the price is $2 for the Jumbo ones.

Gold Bond Foot Spray - handy for the BOB $3

Real Parmesan Cheese - $2.40




I bought 5 more coconut milk for a friend. Today it was 80 cents each. That is still a steal.











FoodSaver freeze 'n Steam bags - $4

I've never purchased these - I hope they were a deal - the foodsaver freezer bags are usualy 10-12 a box and that's for about 2 pieces. I hope I got a good deal.








Dawn Brand scrubbers. 99 cents. Regular 2.99. I think it's a good deal. Of course you can always get scrubbers at the dollar store but they aren't the same quality as these - plus these have the channel you can put dish soap in.

I just might have to go back and buy 5 more. I think 1 brush lasts about 1 yr in my house.




I found the canning section at Fry's. The jars were actually $2 more a case than the ones at Ace Hardware. Ridiculous.

Anyway..I found this pickling lime - it was $2.49. I don't know if that's a deal or not- I looked at the mrs. wages website and the price for 16oz is like $3.59 plus shipping and it no longer comes in this plastic bucket - it just comes in a resealable bag.

I like the bucket.


Imusa wok/cast iron scrubber.

Super handy - I have a bamboo one but I just can't seem to find it (see organized/disorganized prepper life). I will do a demo on this after I do some cooking this weekend.







Glass drinking glasses

39 cents each. It never hurts to have glass put up. For some reason our glasses always have less and less in the cupboard. I think it is just something that happens with time - glasses get broken and thrown away and it's not like you ever discuss that kind of thing.

I may go back in a week and check if they have more and if they are even cheaper.


Finally I got these really DELUXE reusable shopping bags for 99 cents. They are the super strong kind that you can spray down with bleach to sanitize the bottoms. I think they were normally $4 each.









Check it out they even have a 3 pocket divider for wine or jars or whatever and a velcro closure! Fancy huh. haha.











I got 3 prints - the polka dots, the fruit mix, the apple. There was another weird one with cocks (roosters) on it. I didn't really like that print.

Oh and check THIS out - Fry's no longer gives you a 5 cent discount for using your own bag. HAHHA. So what's my motivation then HEFFA? My own contribution to the green movement which is just all some bullshit business created by Al Gore and his Homies.

Gooooodness!

August 2011 Preps, Halfway Through!

I know some of you have seen this and some of you haven't. This is the quick pic of our canning. There was 1 full case to the side that I coudn't include in the photo because I didn't want the table to bow lol.

We've been canning since March 20th and have given away about 20 jars. But we still have 22.5 cases of canned food. It is the best addiction ever and it puts your mind at ease to look at the "food room"

Lemon Juice and Acetone...keep it on the shelves, keep notebooks too folks.












I really try to buy domestically made stuff.













Last week this chicken was only 1.89 a lb. But this last WEEKEND boneless skinless breast was only $1.49, the drumsticks and thighs were only .68 cents a lb. UNBELIEVABLE.









Tonight we also went to purchase more ground chuck (our local store here does 90%lean for chuck) and it was holding at $1.88/lb. All I know is that I have this feeling that prices are going to hike astronomically because our prices here are UNBELIEVABLY cheap.







Canning Chicken is one of my favorite things out there. I like how it looks, how it makes the house smell and how it tastes.










I already reviewed this. Just click on the receipt below so you can feel the amazement.












There's my jardiniere and peaches in the background. I just have to keep it up.












Proof is in the Pudding.

Click on it twice to enlarge the pic.













Walgreen's is getting harder and harder to hustle.

Contact Solution: 8 bucks with instant $8 rebate
BPA free baby spoons: $1.09 clearance
Lindt Choco Truffles: $1.50 each
Aquafresh Whitening: $1.29 clearance
Johnson 500pc Q tips: $1.99





I recently started watching youtube videos on how to make your own laundry soap. Last week while I was out shopping I was just keeping an eye out for Fels Naptha/Octagon soap. I didn't find any here in the West Valley so I stocked the Lirio laundry bars (white for whites and yellow for coloured clothes)

The fels is only $1.39 at Food City in the East Valley and the 400g lirio is only .89 cents


The borax was about 2.60 a box and the washing soda is close to $3 a box. Even just having this much would make at least 110 gallons of laundry soap following the most basic recipe.









We stopped by Wally World to pick up my briquets for my brother. Well Mr.Man and I habitually cruise their clearance. Well I saw this coconut oil but I said it's still pricey. Well as we walked away from it this little Asian lady made eyes at him and said What do you Want Hunny I will mark it down for you! He said I will take these for $2...she said Ohhh only $2.50 is my Max Hunny. He said, "I'll TAKE em"




I was helping my brother organize his pantry, house and garage and I found this 25 compartment organizer thrown in the corner of his 3 car garage. I noticed the corner just needed a bit of duct tape and said Hey Can I take this and he said take it.

I'm going to use it to divvy out my first aid kit a bit. The other week Mr.Man got a pretty deep thumb cut and I had to dig inconveniently.


I had that $8 coupon for walgreens. So I went in there to use it before it expired. I found these baby wipes 3 - 100 packs for only $2.50. I also found Keri Lotion for 5.99 with a $5 rebate. Next to Cetaphil and Jergens, Keri is my next choice. I ended up paying $4.78 and they gave me a $5 instant rebate. LOL.

The white choco nestle chips were only 95 cents each at the local dollar store.



Hydrogen Peroxide was only 99 cents a quart at the 99 cent only store. That is one of the best prices I've seen for 32 ounces. We still have a few cases of hydrogen peroxide so I figured 5 quarts would suffice.








We went to the East Valley to drop off some canned stuff and things I got for the Father In Law while I was in Asia. I was really pushing my luck asking Mr.Man to stop at the Asian store when he barely got off a flight from a 4 day bachelor party. But he's a good sport and he went.

The sake was only $6.47 a bottle but they only had 2 left. I also picked up shredded seaweed, wasabi powder, toasted black sesame and salt, green tea incense and good rice flour.

While contemplating what to can I decided to throw a batch of creamcheese brownies for the boys and girls at Arizona Shootersworld - since they are SO nice to us.









While that baked I went outside to push the cucumbers aka WEEDS around - and don't you know I found a cucumber. A nice big 8 inch one that was happy to see me...









I looked again and saw this 5 inch one...













And sleeping under the other side was one more.

It's not much but at least our ghetto garden finally yielded something. I just wanted to can SOMETHING from our first gardening attempt. Looks like I'm gonna get my chance. Thank you Bees for working and thank you Mr.Man for not giving up!

August Haul...About half way.

Back in the saddle from being overseas last month. I've been home about 3 weeks and it feels good to be back and preppin.

Pork tenderloin was only 1.76/lb. This one piece made approximately 4 pints. I like pulled pork sandwiches so I put this up. I know some of you are not fans of pork but we are. End of conversation.





93% lean was only 1.96 a lb from Fry's market as well. In other areas they might be known as Kroger's. We bought 3 chubs which is 6 lbs. 6 lbs made about 8 pints. Truth be told the biggest chunk of our canned proteins is chicken and lean ground. Lean ground is super flexible recipe wise or even as is for dirty rice.

Once Mr. Man returns with my camera I will be doing recipes on various canned meats including spam, canned ham and the like.



Here is the finished result from canning the pork and chicken.












Seedless grapes were only 77cents a lb and Rainier (THE BEST) cherries were only $1.99 a lb from the usual $5/lb. I am seriously considering canning cherries but I need a cherry pitter. The last time I dehydrated cherries my fingers were blue for a week from removing the pits.








Carrots: 50 cents/bag
Bellpepper: 4/$1
Bolillo Rolls: 5/$1











Half and Half organic salad: $1 each
Cauliflower $.50 cents each
Various Revlon makeup: 99 cents.

Now I know what you are saying makeup? When I see nice neutral colors in good brands like Revlon or L'oreal for less than a dollar - I put them up because even during the War women will trade for cosmetics. Believe that.





The vegetables above made this jardiniere. I really like jardiniere. Sometimes I'll even chop it up and put it in sandwiches instead of pickles.

Mr. Man is a bit heavy handed with the herbs but they tasted really good in the end. With him there are no mistakes in the kitchen - just new recipes. HAHAHA.






Bellpepper 4/$1
Plums 2lbs/.96 cents
Green Onion 3/$1
Cucumber 6/$99 cents
Jalapenos 4lbs/$1
Beef Roast $2.99/lb (very little fat)
Chicken Bouillon 99 cents

All this is for eating and prepping. Mostly for prepping lol.




Someone told me it is against federal law to put hormones in your chicken. So the label of no hormones is an enticement. However I will say that Chicken from Sprouts Market has the best texture, the best smell and the least fat of the chicken breasts that I buy around town.

Their Chicken (boneless skinless) are only $1.89/lb on sale. Other markets have it between $1.47-$1.67/lb. For the difference of approximately 30 cents I will pay for the higher quality.


Peaches were on sale the previous week 4lbs for $1 and last week at 3lbs for $1.

12 lbs was the first batch i bought $3
18 lbs was the 2nd batch i bought. $6

These were good both canned and fresh. And at those prices even if no one in the house did like them I would just put them up and trade them with someone in later days or even include them in Christmas tins with cookies.



12 lbs sliced made 3 pints plus 2 quarts plus 2 bottles of peach syrup.

I always withhold and can the syrup because fruit syrups are always good to mix with green tea or lemonade. And properly stored a syrup will not mold unless it is exposed to air.







18 lbs peaches quartered made only 7 quarts preserves and 2 quarts syrup. Unbelievable. I really thought it would take more than that. I will tell you this - I had to bust out the biggest pans I had to boil these for 1 minute and it was a pain. I would suggest you raw pack them and get the syrup super hot then boil water can them. It was a mess but a delicious mess.






I was running low on lemon and lime juice - so I popped by the 99 cent only. The lemon juice there is 25% juice and the lime is actually very good. I also stopped by Wally World for pure acetone (for my nails UH HUH) and the composition books were only 40 cents. In our preps we also include paper, pens, pencils, because those are simply things we cannot make and you may have to teach small children how to write or do math or science so it is good to have.




Here is confirmation that it's made int he USA and is good until June of next year - but truth be told it never lasts that long in this house.











Here is a close up of the chicken package













$1.89 a lb. It still can't be beat. What I don't understand is this temporary drop in prices on everything here in AZ. It's quite deceptive because I talk to people around the country and they are definitely not getting the same benefit as the prices we have here. I am taking advantage of it but since the fiasco with Wall Street I intend on buying even more this week to can and store.






8 lbs fresh makes about 8 pints canned. I am very cautious not to overstuff them coz I feel it is a waste of time when you lose a seal. We have used our chicken in various ways but that will be highlighted in another blog.









Always on the hunt. These brownie mixes were only 69 cents a piece at Albertsons. Yeah you heard me. So I bought all the ones they had left on the shelf. I buy the small boxes of baking soda for my cookies because I like the lift from a fresher box. I bought corn tortillas because I can't keep up with how much they eat around here. The pectin I got for $1 with my latest coupon. Now the Jars and lids...well that's another story.

Jars: 5 bucks a case and 99 cents a box of lids!


Here is a picture of the receipt for any disbelievers. This is what happened...the girl I always pick (Jess) to check out at Walmart knows that I price match and use coupons. She asked if the jars had any price matching. I said well,"you should just put them at $5 like the clearance at Fry's and the lids are normally 99 cents..." Well don't you know she did match it.

Click on the pick to enlarge.

Observe it says CASH. I try to pay cash for preps purchases so no one can dig around in my data. As for membership cards those are all dummy names and phone numbers.

The 25 lb sugar never goes on sale. However the price has held for the last 6 weeks at 13.78. This girl had the nerve to tell me that the 4lb bag was on sale for $3. Hahahaha. Ain't that something, I had to tell her that would make it about $18 for 25 lbs and that did me no good. Math folks.

Like I said - Mr. Man took off with the digi cam for the shotgun wedding so the other preps I was able to purchase so I will just put them on by the end of the month



Walgreen's is getting harder and harder to hustle.

Contact Solution: 8 bucks with instant $8 rebate
BPA free baby spoons: $1.09 clearance
Lindt Choco Truffles: $1.50 each
Aquafresh Whitening: $1.29 clearance
Johnson 500pc Q tips: $1.99

They have really tightened up on the use of the rebates. Before you could use the rebate on the next purchase which included separating your purchases and paying for the 2nd half of your items with the previous rebate. Now they no longer allow you to apply your rebate until the following day. So I'm going to have to break up my purchasing - I can't wait until the weather cools down so I can just ride my bike down there. I have no intention of wasting gas just to save a few bucks. In truth if you do it right they end up paying you 25 cents to a buck to take that stuff out the store.

Keep Preppin' Folks...It's getting bonkers out there!